AN EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION ON SMART LAMINATED COMPOSITE STRUCTURES FEATURING EMBEDDED ELECTRORHEOLOGICAL FLUID DOMAINS FOR VIBRATION-CONTROL APPLICATIONS

A proof-of-concept investigation is presented herein on a class of macroscopically smart composite laminated structural materials and also monolithic materials containing voids filled with electro-rheological (ER) fluids. The elastodynamic behavior of beam-like structures fabricated in this class of materials is shown to be controllable by selectively tuning the electrical field imposed upon the ER fluid domains in the structure. Investigations on controlling the transient response of cantilevered beams are presented. These experimental studies undertaken clearly demonstrate the ability of this class of smart laminated materials to change their natural frequencies, structural damping properties and dynamic stiffnesses in real-time, thereby providing a new vibration-control strategy for the engineering community.